Battle of Grajewo

The Battle of Grajewo was a battle of the Polish-Teutonic Wars fought in 1321. It was a serious clash that occurred during the Knights Teutonic invasion of the Livonians, as a response to Komtur Thaisen Lindemeyer's destructive raids on Polish lands. Baron Sofroniusz Kukulski of Grajewo met him with an army the same size and both commanders died, but the Polish won the battle.

Background
It was the Kingdom of Poland that invited the Knights Teutonic to help them against the pagans of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Livonians in 1230 AD, but this resulted in a series of destructive Northern Crusades that would result in the famous Battle of Saule between the Lithuanians and the Sword Brethren in 1238 and the Battle of Lake Peipus between the Germans and the Grand Duchy of Novgorod in 1242. The Polish eventually regretted this invitation and sided with both sides in their wars, changing whenever they pleased.

In 1320, Teutonic Komtur Thaisen Lindemeyer raised an army of 14,500 Teutonic Knights from the Holy Roman Empire with the goal of changing the tide in the ongoing war between the Christians and the pagan Livonians, but as he marched through the Kingdom of Poland (who had been so kind as to offer temporary military access), he destroyed several villages. Lindemeyer had massacred 5,000 Poles by the time he had reached 10 miles into his journey, and Baron Sofroniusz Kukulski of the borough of Grajewo rose up in defiance with 14,500 men as well.

Battle
Thaisen was confident that he could defeat the woodsmen with his Teutonic militiamen, but the Polish flanks hit the Teutonic flanks and their center charged the Teutonic center. The melee started as the hacking and slashing ensued, and both commanders were killed. However, the Polish woodsmen were better fighters than the militiamen and routed them. They pursued the militia and massacred them, inflicting a total defeat. Nearly 4,000 Poles and 8,000 Teutonic Knights were killed in the bloodbath.

Aftermath
Shortly after, the Teutonic Hochmeister sent envoys to the King of Poland, and the two agreed to make peace. The military access to the Teutonic Knights was cut off, and the Polish would resume warfare soon after.